After a grueling battle with my lack of skill playing video games I have beaten Metroid Dread! Yay!!
Now… My thoughts. These are going to be kind of fragmented until the end, just random points.
Opening Thoughts
If you follow me this comes as no surprise, but this wasn’t exactly the game I wanted it to be. I really wanted Dread to be the culmination of the “Federation Evil” ideas brought forth in Fusion, something like the Federation trying to hunt Samus down for her Metroid DNA. Instead it’s some random other guy doing everything I wanted the Federation to do.
I saw that coming with one of the 60040373829 spoiler trailers Nintendo had put out but it still made me go “Aw MAN”, because I was sort of hoping it was them being intentionally misleading. But unfortunately it wasn’t, and to be honest the Federation played a super tiny role in this game. It was kind of baffling. Outside of that opening cutscene, they didn't even mention the Federation, which I feel like they SHOULD have. Even the X-Parasite, it seemed that toward the end they were like, “Oh, shit, yeah. We should start using that more.”… It was kinda just there.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the game or anything. Even though it wasn’t the game I wanted, I still really enjoyed what we got, to the point that this is in my Top 3 games of 2021. In particular, I really liked the Chozo content. I’ll touch on that more later, but for now I just wanna say I enjoyed the story and the payoff of Sexy Chozo aka Raven Beak being the 2d/10 Chozo from Samus Returns.
Gameplay
This may be heinous to admit, but because I’m not good at video games, I often complete Metroid games through walkthrough guides. So I guess this was the first one I beat entirely on my own? And it shows. I got stuck a lot. But I was somehow able to get through the whole thing, which was really cool for me.
I don’t have too many comments on gameplay, being someone who sucks at video games and also just doesn’t like playing them too much (why do you think I read so many visual novels? I’m into Metroid for the Lore)… I thought it was fun! I wish the Core boss fights got became different instead of being the same thing but faster over time, and that Emmi water section can go fuck itself, genuinely. Other than that, this was fine to play.
I do have some questions, like why are the Emmi only roaming certain areas? If they’re hacked why not let them be all over the place? But maybe that would be too similar to SA-X. This also lessens the Emmi’s shock factor slightly, because it was scarier/more shocking to randomly get approached by SA-X than go into an Emmi area. But this is honestly a minor complaint.
I don’t care about how linear people are calling this one, my favorite game is Fusion. I blame every time I got lost and had a #MetroidMoment on myself because I’m just dumb.
Adam
Contrary to how many times I draw him(?), I don’t like Adam at all really. Whenever I draw him or Samus, I kind of bastardize their characters into what I would like for them to be (both of them being serious, but Samus having more humor to her and more Chozo traits & Adam being the straight man for her to bounce off of).
But I actually liked Adam in this game. Though he didn’t really have much of a personality, when he did have his moments, it was typically him kind of talking shit about Samus and I thought that was really funny considering he’s dead and a computer program so like where do you get off saying this my guy? “You are faced with overwhelming power. Accept your helplessness.” and all that… Maybe it’s because I have the mental image of Samus getting back into the ship and quarantining him inside the OS of her toaster for being bitchy during the mission that I find his occasional commentary funny.
EDIT: I now know that this was not actually Adam but instead Raven Beak posing as him the entire time, and not just toward the end of the game like I thought. I retract all my praises of Adam and put them instead on Raven Beak. Raven Beak best character.
Chozo Stuff & Samus
And now with all those fragmentary thoughts out there, here is the heart of this review, which is just me gushing about Quiet Robe, his introduction cutscene/the scene that followed, and Samus.
Getting a character like Quiet Robe in-game was such a treat to me. The Luminoth Dude from Prime 2 was kind of the same in essence, a kindly older alien Samus happens to help out, but Quiet Robe was just so much different, mainly because he’s a Chozo. In a game where we now find out that the Chozo still exist and the one that attacks us at the beginning is hostile, it leads us (or at least me) to believe those in the Mawkin are the only ones still alive. I mean, you would have to have a killing instinct to survive when everyone else in your race seems to be gone.
But then just as you’re keeping the thought of Raven Beak in the back of your mind, slowly fading due to loss of interaction with him, you then suddenly meet Quiet Robe, who saves you and just has this peaceful, loving aura to him. It really made me think of Old Bird, who’s never made a real in-game appearance. And I really like Old Bird! And of course Samus likes Old Bird too. So meeting Quiet Robe and having him be like Old Bird (kindly guiding figure) just genuinely made me so happy. I hope having some similarities to Old Bird was the intention because it makes Samus’s presence in that scene more emotional.
This is where my rambling about Samus comes in. At first, I had really wanted Samus to be like how she was in Fusion, where she spoke back to Adam/spoke in general. I especially wanted to see that due to the fact it was /Adam/ Adam, like recovered personality and everything, which we didn’t really see because it happened toward the end of Fusion. But Samus in Dread doesn’t speak…
EXCEPT when she’s with Quiet Robe. When Quiet Robe explains everything to her, and how he’s placing his trust in her… And THEN she speaks, and it’s in Chozo?! Something I don’t think we’ve ever heard/seen her do (for some reason I think I’m making up a memory of her doing this in Prime 1)?! It legitimately made me tear up.
The one time she speaks, and it’s because she’s speaking with a Chozo, the race who raised her, making an oath that she’ll do what needs to be done in their native language. It just made the scene feel so personal, and so impactful that’s her ONE line.
Later on in the game when she got the God Hand I also love how it was introduced. At first, she didn’t want to use the power because it wasn’t her, taking out whatever that hedgehog monster was with her gun rather than her hand. But then when she gets attacked by the Emmi, she decided being noble and sticking to what you know doesn’t mean shit when you’re going to die, and so she used it, and still felt confident afterwards because she’s confident in herself. If this was… let's say Pit from Kid Icarus, he would probably go against using God Hand because waahhh evil guy did something to me that made me get this. But Samus isn’t that black and white. She’ll take what she can get because at the end of the day, SHE’S the one that’s in control. Even when she goes full Metroid she still goes “Yeah I can take you” [naenaes on Raven Beak].
But despite all that strength, it loops back to Quiet Robe in the ending. She’s gone Full Metroid and she gets in the ship and when Quiet Robe appears, she doesn’t shoot. Even when she knows it’s the X, seeing him there, she freezes. It’s so good especially after all the carnage you just wrecked— that she’s still human underneath all that and she can’t bring herself to shoot him. And then Quiet Robe fades away and the X saves her from Full Metroid and then bam credits roll we did it gang.
I love this portrayal of Samus. So strong and kind and cool!!!
My only complaints here... I really wish the Metroid DNA just destroyed her face. Also, I know the Metroid backstory manga isn’t exactly canon (like it is, but it also they never really bring it up in the games internationally?), but Raven Beak calling Samus his daughter was like YOU WISH!!!! Didn’t even pay child support brokeass bitch
Closing Thoughts
I don’t have much to add after all that. Seriously, I enjoyed Dread a lot. Even if it wasn’t exactly the game I was hoping Dread would be after all these years, it was still just [chefs kiss] MWAH. So good in so many other ways. Psychonauts 2 is still my 2021 GOTY but this one’s definitely second for sure.
10/10. What a game!
but also fuck zss bring back fusion fit and hair #NotMySamus
Opening Thoughts
If you follow me this comes as no surprise, but this wasn’t exactly the game I wanted it to be. I really wanted Dread to be the culmination of the “Federation Evil” ideas brought forth in Fusion, something like the Federation trying to hunt Samus down for her Metroid DNA. Instead it’s some random other guy doing everything I wanted the Federation to do.
I saw that coming with one of the 60040373829 spoiler trailers Nintendo had put out but it still made me go “Aw MAN”, because I was sort of hoping it was them being intentionally misleading. But unfortunately it wasn’t, and to be honest the Federation played a super tiny role in this game. It was kind of baffling. Outside of that opening cutscene, they didn't even mention the Federation, which I feel like they SHOULD have. Even the X-Parasite, it seemed that toward the end they were like, “Oh, shit, yeah. We should start using that more.”… It was kinda just there.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the game or anything. Even though it wasn’t the game I wanted, I still really enjoyed what we got, to the point that this is in my Top 3 games of 2021. In particular, I really liked the Chozo content. I’ll touch on that more later, but for now I just wanna say I enjoyed the story and the payoff of Sexy Chozo aka Raven Beak being the 2d/10 Chozo from Samus Returns.
Gameplay
This may be heinous to admit, but because I’m not good at video games, I often complete Metroid games through walkthrough guides. So I guess this was the first one I beat entirely on my own? And it shows. I got stuck a lot. But I was somehow able to get through the whole thing, which was really cool for me.
I don’t have too many comments on gameplay, being someone who sucks at video games and also just doesn’t like playing them too much (why do you think I read so many visual novels? I’m into Metroid for the Lore)… I thought it was fun! I wish the Core boss fights got became different instead of being the same thing but faster over time, and that Emmi water section can go fuck itself, genuinely. Other than that, this was fine to play.
This cutscene had me popping off so hard
I don’t care about how linear people are calling this one, my favorite game is Fusion. I blame every time I got lost and had a #MetroidMoment on myself because I’m just dumb.
Adam
Contrary to how many times I draw him(?), I don’t like Adam at all really. Whenever I draw him or Samus, I kind of bastardize their characters into what I would like for them to be (both of them being serious, but Samus having more humor to her and more Chozo traits & Adam being the straight man for her to bounce off of).
But I actually liked Adam in this game. Though he didn’t really have much of a personality, when he did have his moments, it was typically him kind of talking shit about Samus and I thought that was really funny considering he’s dead and a computer program so like where do you get off saying this my guy? “You are faced with overwhelming power. Accept your helplessness.” and all that… Maybe it’s because I have the mental image of Samus getting back into the ship and quarantining him inside the OS of her toaster for being bitchy during the mission that I find his occasional commentary funny.
EDIT: I now know that this was not actually Adam but instead Raven Beak posing as him the entire time, and not just toward the end of the game like I thought. I retract all my praises of Adam and put them instead on Raven Beak. Raven Beak best character.
He looks like such a loser here.
Chozo Stuff & Samus
And now with all those fragmentary thoughts out there, here is the heart of this review, which is just me gushing about Quiet Robe, his introduction cutscene/the scene that followed, and Samus.
Getting a character like Quiet Robe in-game was such a treat to me. The Luminoth Dude from Prime 2 was kind of the same in essence, a kindly older alien Samus happens to help out, but Quiet Robe was just so much different, mainly because he’s a Chozo. In a game where we now find out that the Chozo still exist and the one that attacks us at the beginning is hostile, it leads us (or at least me) to believe those in the Mawkin are the only ones still alive. I mean, you would have to have a killing instinct to survive when everyone else in your race seems to be gone.
But then just as you’re keeping the thought of Raven Beak in the back of your mind, slowly fading due to loss of interaction with him, you then suddenly meet Quiet Robe, who saves you and just has this peaceful, loving aura to him. It really made me think of Old Bird, who’s never made a real in-game appearance. And I really like Old Bird! And of course Samus likes Old Bird too. So meeting Quiet Robe and having him be like Old Bird (kindly guiding figure) just genuinely made me so happy. I hope having some similarities to Old Bird was the intention because it makes Samus’s presence in that scene more emotional.
I wish he was my dad
EXCEPT when she’s with Quiet Robe. When Quiet Robe explains everything to her, and how he’s placing his trust in her… And THEN she speaks, and it’s in Chozo?! Something I don’t think we’ve ever heard/seen her do (for some reason I think I’m making up a memory of her doing this in Prime 1)?! It legitimately made me tear up.
The one time she speaks, and it’s because she’s speaking with a Chozo, the race who raised her, making an oath that she’ll do what needs to be done in their native language. It just made the scene feel so personal, and so impactful that’s her ONE line.
Later on in the game when she got the God Hand I also love how it was introduced. At first, she didn’t want to use the power because it wasn’t her, taking out whatever that hedgehog monster was with her gun rather than her hand. But then when she gets attacked by the Emmi, she decided being noble and sticking to what you know doesn’t mean shit when you’re going to die, and so she used it, and still felt confident afterwards because she’s confident in herself. If this was… let's say Pit from Kid Icarus, he would probably go against using God Hand because waahhh evil guy did something to me that made me get this. But Samus isn’t that black and white. She’ll take what she can get because at the end of the day, SHE’S the one that’s in control. Even when she goes full Metroid she still goes “Yeah I can take you” [naenaes on Raven Beak].
But despite all that strength, it loops back to Quiet Robe in the ending. She’s gone Full Metroid and she gets in the ship and when Quiet Robe appears, she doesn’t shoot. Even when she knows it’s the X, seeing him there, she freezes. It’s so good especially after all the carnage you just wrecked— that she’s still human underneath all that and she can’t bring herself to shoot him. And then Quiet Robe fades away and the X saves her from Full Metroid and then bam credits roll we did it gang.
I love this portrayal of Samus. So strong and kind and cool!!!
My only complaints here... I really wish the Metroid DNA just destroyed her face. Also, I know the Metroid backstory manga isn’t exactly canon (like it is, but it also they never really bring it up in the games internationally?), but Raven Beak calling Samus his daughter was like YOU WISH!!!! Didn’t even pay child support brokeass bitch
Closing Thoughts
I don’t have much to add after all that. Seriously, I enjoyed Dread a lot. Even if it wasn’t exactly the game I was hoping Dread would be after all these years, it was still just [chefs kiss] MWAH. So good in so many other ways. Psychonauts 2 is still my 2021 GOTY but this one’s definitely second for sure.
10/10. What a game!
but also fuck zss bring back fusion fit and hair #NotMySamus
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